Please Sir, I'd Like Some More!

MORE???!!!

Uh-huh : ) More, pics please.

A couple weeks ago I requested some screne shots of BoB games. I only got a few and would appreciate some more... look how dark and lonely the bottom right of my page looks!

I was also thinking it would be funny if some of you could dress up like BoB characters for Halloween and take some pics for me. Then perhaps if you're super lucky I'll post them here!

I'm sure some of you were going to go as a Tacky Touris or Elvis anyway ; ) so, why don't you humour me and share the pics. If you like I'll paste the actual animated avatar's face on yours so you're not looking foolish on the net : 9

Like this guy:

The Fellowship of the Ping

www.BetonBattles.com Has a refer a friend program you can take advantage of. When you refer someone who has never played on BetonBattles, the lovely folks at BoB will pay you 15% of the Deposit Hold that they generate. See for all the terms.

What better way is there for your friends to repay you for introducing them to BoB than you getting paid for it? Refer as many as you like, five at a time though. We could make this into a popularity contest ; ) Who’s the coolest out there with the most friends? : P

What's Your BoB Soundtrack?

So, I was enjoying a good game of BoB the other day; jumping around, the showgirl Avatar was gasping and sighing as per usual. Along with my characters noises though, began a strange echo; then sounds that were even more suspect than the show girl's moans... for a second I thought it was my neighbours again, then a guitar started playing, but I’d never heard them do both those activities at the same time before… that would require either massive boredom or great talent.

It took me a second.

It was, of course, music (the intro to More Human Than Human, to be exact ; ) from my mp3 player beside me (that was on random and hadn’t played a song in a while, probably due to some hidden track spacing that I had neglected to remove.) so not the game or my neighbour after all. After my initial amusement, as I continued to play and the music got more and more intense, I realised how energising it was to play along with a soundtrack.

I heartily recommend you give it a try. It adds an umph, a certain je ne sais quoi…

I have now created a whole playlist for myself to run around fragging Tourists, Cowboys and Elvises to (yah, I know and music for being fragged or falling off tables. Maybe I’ll add ‘Livin on the Edge” to my playlist…)

Let me know if you enjoy this as much as I do and what’s on your playlist?

Give “Lose Yourself”, “Mama Said Knock You Out”, or “Just One Fix” a try. They’re my fav’s for BoB right now!

What about BoB?

For the newbies out there, or people stumbling upon this site:

What exactly is Betonbattles?

BetonBattles, a.k.a. BoB, is a skill-gaming site where players compete with each other to win skill-based gaming tournaments. Currently BetonBattles is hosting the game, Casino BoB. It's a first person shooter in which your are in an arena with other players and you are trying to get the highest number of kills (or frags, as they call them). If you've played and mastered other first person shooter games, then the cash games should be quite lucrative for you. If you're a bit rusty, never played or just want to play around a bit, you can practice in the free tournament arenas.

Betonbattles will also be launching a new game in November in which the objective is not to kill each other, but to gather cards. It is more of a capture the flag type game were you gather 5 cards which equal a poker hand, then the player with the best hand at the end wins.

The games have an amusing Vegas twist in the sense that all the playable characters are Vegas inspired, like the show girl and the tacky tourist, and the arenas are similarly designed. To see some Casino BoB action check out the clip on YouTube @ http://youtube.com/watch?v=mWujLPF8Mhg , or just go straight to https://www.betonbattles.com/ and try it out first hand. There are a couple sign up steps to get you started, like creating a username & password and downloading the game itself, but it doesn't commit you to anything.

Un Re3zor D'être

I caught up with Re3z0r on myspace and asked him a couple Q's. See; I said I would deliver the goods ; 9

Where you from? Westminster, CO.

Day Job? I work in IT at an internet datacenter.

How long have you been playing 1st person shooters like BoB? Since whenever doom came out? started competing in quake1, so over a decade at least.

How much have you won so far gaming online? Over 2 grand on betonbattles.com. Won over a grand on another gaming site recently that I won't name lol. I'll just say it's really tough to win money over there since they don't do much promotional stuff anymore, I play almost exclusively on BoB now. Betonbattles.com deffinitely has the most lucrative offerings in skill gaming, so take advantage of it! Total I've probably won around 20 grand or so in cash and prizes over the years playing in LAN tourneys and online tourneys. I don't really keep track but that could easily be an understatement ;)

What’s your winning strategy? Such a broad question, there are many aspects, fundamentals, techniques to winning. Kinda depends on how many players are in the game too. Controlling the powerups and knowing their respawn times is probably most important. Also important is playing tactically like baiting the powerups, using the right weapons at the right times, predicting what the other player/players are doing and coming up with a good counterstrat on the fly. Playing well positionally. Obviously not getting into situations where you know you will have a disadvantage, so just using common sense goes a long way. Also, movement... I've seen maybe one other person (besides my brother, hobbes) who knows how to strafe jump... it's so important to learn how to do that because you move probably 30-40 percent faster, it's easy for me to get away from 'iffy' situations and its good in pursuing advantages when they arise.

Do you have a favourite weapon? I mainly use the ray gun and the shotgun as they seem to be the most efficient weapons. If I know someone is low on health I'd bust out the machine gun and finish them off. If I am trying to control a position then I'm spamming my rocket launcher or grenade launcher (I forget the BoB names for the weapons). My favorite though is using the machine gun with the quad/speed powerups, feels like a .50 cal lol.

Any plans to turn gaming into a career, or are you doing that already? I'm definitely not quiting my day job, hard to get benifits in gaming lol (like you know, health care, 401k...). I will definitely play it for some really nice side income though :) If the stakes get higher then who knows what could happen!

Are you trying out for the Vegas Tourney? Heck yes! But I am having a hard time getting people to play me. It's going to be real hard staying in the top 5 but I'm going to do my best! Cmon people step up and play! I'm fun to play and I'll give tips/advice on your game as well.

Ever been to Vegas? Never! Can you believe that? 25 and never been to vegas... hopefully next january though! ;)

What do you like to do, besides playing Casino BoB, of course? ; ) A lot of things :) I like to hang out with friends, go out to bars/clubs. I LOVE music and that is a big part of my life. I have a myspace page if anyone is interested, www.myspace.com/re3z0r :) Message me and I'll give tips/tricks to playing BoB successfully in exchange for just playing a couple games with me, then I'll tell you what you need to improve on and what you did well. I'm a nice guy so don't be shy!

Is there a Mrs. Re3z0r? No Mrs. Re3z0r at the moment :) interested!?... LOL jp :P I would like to give a shoutout to my brother Hobbes, WHATS UP!? lol. He plays on BoB and he is a good player as well, so watch out! Happy fragging everyone!!

“It says, I choo-choo choose you, and there’s a picture of a bee on it!”

K, maybe I got that a bit messed up : ) Today’s post is brought to you by the letter “B”, though. But it’s not for “bee”; it’s for BoB players on Bebo, the social network.

I have an account there now for the convenience of players on who have Bebo accounts. You can get in touch with me, I try to check it daily, or add me as a friend for updates, In other words: “choo-choo choose me!” (and there’s a picture of a train…not a bee : )

The link: http://www.bebo.com/SirenB

'B' is for "Brain Damage"

Picture of Ralph from http://navid.blogg.se/images/ralph_wiggum_1144410882.gif

The BoB Tube

I just watched the video that’s on YouTube of BoB and, though the resolution isn’t great, it’s an exciting little video. Watching it I was shown a few little things (like the martini glass thingy) that I had never noticed before. They should do one of the bar room brawl as well. Personally I prefer that arena, I find it bigger and more intricately detailed (plus it has the sniper rifle!) Though it could be that it’s because I can’t fall off the table and upset my placing in the bar room (well not in the videogame bar room anyway : ) Checkout the video and let me know what you think.

It here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWujLPF8Mhg

I'm a model, yah know what I mean...

Send me your screne shots!

I want to start a little picture album banner to the right here. It's looking a little bleak and I thought I'd spruce it up a bit with pictures of your games.

Images can be sent to: siren@betonbattles.com & I'll put them up ASAP or when I have enough for it to look pretty.

TAG! You're it!

Link up with me on MySpace or Facebook. There are BoB groups there too. You can join up and post any screen shots you’ve taken or chat about the game.

Here are the links:

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=626896241

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4851206391

MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/__siren

http://groups.myspace.com/betonbattles

Game Chat Like: “Hey You! Return my Dignity Posthaste!”

Did you know that if you press "T" during a tournament you can chat with the other players?

Press T and a little text bar will appear. Type what you want; for example: "You're all goin’ down!*rude gesticulation*", then press enter. The message then displays on the screen for everyone to read. (Though for some reason the text on my screen always has the top half cut off if it's the first text up there... probably a screen setting issue?)

It may be also possible to target one person with text. For instance, if I'm trying to just tell pineapple shirted tacky tourist "You're not gonna make a fool of me again today. *fist-shake, fist-shake" and don't want others to see, I'm investigating if there is a way to only send that message to his screen.

I’ll keep you posted ; )

What Would you do with a Hundred Grand?

http://www.betonbattles.com/ is sending six people who qualify to compete in their $100K tourney in Vegas! AND giving them $5000.00

World Series of Battles (http://wsob.com/) a.k.a. WSOB is the Championship Tournament for BetonBattles participants. To qualify you need to win one of six of their qualifying tournaments. You could also win a trip to Las Vegas – all expenses paid : D – if you’re one of the top 5 on the leader board for the qualifying tournaments. Dates and more info can be found at the above WSOB link.

The Championship tournament will be held once all the qualifier tournaments are over with. On top of getting a trip to Vegas, you may become the winner of their $100,000 grand prize.

Let's pause for a moment and think about what one could do with ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! I’m getting excited just thinking about how many video game consoles, computers and accessories, video games and I’m sorry I can’t forget shoes (they’re my Achilles Heal) that I could buy with that money. Huge flat screen monitors with surround sound. Heck, three huge monitors working together so I’m partially surrounded with whatever game I’m playing! One of those leather recliners that heat up and give you a shiatsu massage, Italian leather stiletto sling-backs… sorry shoes again : )

***Sigh***

Any other Ideas for the eventual winner? That’s a whole lotta zeros to win for enjoying some vids and spending time in Vegas!

Yoo Hoo! Re3z0r are you out there?

I've had some requests to get to the bottom of who this Re3z0r individual is and what makes them tick.... Perhaps I can become Siren, PI and track them down for a word or two...

perhaps now I won't have to...

Red Elvis, Top of the Charts: Amer

I had a chance to have a talk with Amer, our top winner so far. Here's a bit about him, some cryptic hints and what he has to say about the you game being launched in November.


So Amer, how much have you won so far?

$3000+

What character do you usually play?

Red Elvis

What's your favourite weapon and why?

Shotgun, I like kill in close…

Have you bought anything cool with your winnings?

Nope, they all go to the wife…

(Aw isn't that sweet, bet she encourages your gaming! "Play a couple more games, Amer. I want new shoes!" : )

Any secrets to your success you can share?

Patience

Have you had a chance to play the new bob game?

Yes. It is pretty exciting.

Tells us about it.

We are working integrating it right now and hope to have it available ASAP. It is basically the same user interface; however the objective is not to kill each other, rather to gather cards. It is more of a capture the flag style game were you gather 5 cards which equal a poker hand and the player with the best hand wins the game.

www.betonbattles.com

BetonBattles is launching a new game at the end of November. I’ve only had a glimpse of it personally, but the arenas are HUGE and have great details: statues, posters, winding staircases… BoB has really outdone them selves with this one!

WSOB is coming up as well. I hope you’re all ready. It looks like Amer is our top winner right now. I wonder if I could get him to sit down for an interview to let us all in on a few of his secrets… Stay tuned!

Teamwork and Careers in Gaming

I was watching Major League Gaming (MLG) yesterday. I was impressed with the teams organization and their ability to work together towards a common goal, especially the tournament champions, Final Boss. The game they were playing was a first person shooter like BoB. I think it would be great if the creators of BoB could organise an arena or tournaments for team challenges. Perhaps something like cowboys against the showgirls.

The program yesterday also highlighted people who were playing in the tournament for whom gaming was their career (and quite a lucrative one at that!) It’s games like BoB that make it possible for people to realistically have a career in gaming or to game oneself through college! Just like us die hard gamers have always dreamed : )

What's That Noise!?

I have heard a rumour going around that there are a few grown men out there changing their game characters to the Show Girl because they like the interesting noises she makes… (you know who you are : )

That’s just plain funny : D

It got me thinking that if the show girl is so popular, (I’m seeing an increasing number of them and hearing an ever growing chorus of their panting and gasping in the arenas) then why can’t there be more female characters to choose from? They could make a Police woman, blackjack dealer, cocktail waitress or something else along the same theme. Any other ideas? A cowgirl perhaps…

Awesome game yesterday, guys!

It's always way more exciting when there's so many of us : ) What do you think of the dice launcher? I always seem to get clumsy with it and injure myself... I guess a good rule of thumb is to not run forward into your own granade. ; )

I'll be here online or playing in the free tournaments between 4 and 5 on weekday afternoons at http://www.betonbattles.com/.

How is everyone enjoying BoB?

www.betonbattles.com

It’s not easy being a 3 inch tall Showgirl, the toothpick machine gun certainly helps, coupled with the fact that Elvis, and everyone else who is attacking me, are just as vertically challenged as I.

It has begun. The padded grey upholstery of the barstool on which I’m standing seems rough beneath my bare feet. My heart is pounding. My breath is shallow. I’m building up the courage to just run for the nearest weapon and then duck into some kind of safe haven. My strategy needs work though. Hiding in the shadows picking off cowboys and tourists only works for so long before I could be spotted and taken out by a ray or chip gun from the lamp shades above. Running in the open though, makes me an easy target. I jump to the nearest table and spot another showgirl dressed in an array of pink satin, sequins and feathers. I want to embrace this kindred spirit, but she’s holding a dice gun and it’s pointed right at me. I react the only way I can. Running safely away from her first volley, I aim my gun and pull the trigger. Sharp toothpicks go speeding towards her like quills from a porcupine. The machine gun is vibrating as they’re projected on a deadly path, and it’s slipping in my now sweaty grasp, but I’ve hit my mark and she explodes in an awesome display of stars, feathers and body parts. There’s no time to mourn the necessity of my actions against my fellow entertainer; It’s now vital that I run across the roulette table and collect more ammo. All I have left is a boxing glove, and I don’t want Fat Elvis getting that close.

There’s a whizzing sound nearby like a mosquito looking for a meal. Suddenly my back is thumped hard and burning palmetto juice is searing the delicate smooth skin of my exposed back. I start to panic. Losing control, I look wildly about in an attempt to find the coward shooting me from behind with olives. I must try to stay calm and am desperate for more ammunition. I take a deep breath and relax the grip on my empty firearm. Dodging and sprinting away across the table I’m half way towards my goal when I spot a vision of pink vengeful fury to my left. The dice are thrown; they seem so innocent the way they bounce like a child’s rubber ball in a game of jacks. Then they land right in my path. Snake eyes. I run. I jump. It’s too late though, they explode viciously, making me cry out in agony. A moment later there’s nothing left of me but pieces all over the soft, green velvet of the roulette table.